Lynn barks a laugh instead of giving me alook. The other women join in the laughter, and Leeann nudges me with her elbow. “That’s the spirit, Mira. Villains have thebestsnark.”
I deflate. “I don’t want to be a villain. I don’t want to be in papers, or articles, or videos taken from across streets. I don’t really like the idea of strangers following my life and making assumptions about it that are wrong because I have socially-accepted stalkers hanging around. It’s a huge decision about where I want my life to go. And I…” My body warms. “…I don’t even know if I like Damion enough to want him if he were a normal guy. I don’t know what that feels like. And I’m scared that if I let myself like him, that’ll be the start of his feelings thinning out and him realizing I’m not all that great, actually, and then what? Then I’ll have all these horrible articles about me strewn all over the internet, a broken heart, and no job. I lose everything.”
Absolutely everything.
Stillness consumes the room, and I dare to look up once it settles too heavily in my chest.
Beth starts, softly, “Loving someone is always a risk. Loving someone powerful enough to ruin everything is dangerous. This is a big decision, Mira. You’re a smart girl for recognizing that. But you have people who are by you, who will catch you if you fall, who will take care of you, and who will believe you. Can you trust us enough to let yourself entertain a little danger and risk on the chance it might become something beautiful?”
The lump forming in my throat threatens to choke me.
Lynn says, “You know I always have a vacant room or two hanging around, and I’ve been blessed to be in a position where I can say that you and Fawn will be welcome, rent-free, until you get back on your feet, if you need it. You two have been my best-ever renters, so that isn’t even charity—it’s an investment in the quality of interacting with you.”
Tears prick my eyes.
Leeann’s hand settles on my knee. “If there weren’t any scary things, or any negative things. If he werejust a guy…would you take the chance on figuring out whether or not you like him?”
My mind flashes through pictures and moments, consuming itself with the drug ofhim.
Life is full of risks and dangers.
People are scary, so I’ve spent much of my time protecting myself against the risks associated with them. It took meyearsof being around and living with Fawn before I realized she likedmebetter than the person I showed to most people.
It takes years to form the kind of foundation I want with the man I choose to marry.
And, yet, for all my searching and all my brief bouts of dating, I’ve never let myself get close enough to anyone to so much as kiss them.
Terrified, I say, “Should…I see if…maybe he wants to go out with me to a restaurant…sometime this week?”
Leeann smiles and taps my knee. “I think that would be a wonderful idea.”
Shakily, I smile back.
As though my heart isn’t, yet again, attempting to vacate my chest.
Chapter 24
?
This isexactlywhy I’m in love.
Damion
“Dating,” I echo, heart launching into my throat.
“Dating?” Forrest asks, because I forgot I was on the phone with him the second Mirabelle burst into my office with that single word on her lips. “Ah, well. I suppose we could, buddy. Just for fun, though. I’m not looking for marriage or an—”
I hang up on him, sit up straighter, and lace my fingers together atop my desk.
Mirabelle’s blue gemstone eyes flick from my face to the phone I’ve discarded and widen. Stepping back toward the steps leading out, she hesitates, arms full of mysterious wonderful sheets of paper. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t knock.” She looks at the door behind her. “I completely forgot to knock. Youworkin here.” Her face pales. “I am already messing this up.”
“No. No, no.” I rise to my feet, round the desk, and approach her, so I can catch her just in case she tries to make a break for it. “The great part about being a billionaire is literally nothing is ever messed up. No one else is ever more important.”
Terror in her face when she looks up at me, she says, “Everyone’s important. Always. People are important.”
“I just mean…you can’t ruin anything. I can call anyone back, and they’ll get over it, because I’m probably paying them well.”
“What about business partners?Otherbillionaires?”
